4 Dina Gonzalez Leading the Way in Child Care in Merced County Dina Gonzalez considers herself fortunate to be in a position where she can be a provider for her family, a role model for her children and others to succeed, especially teen moms, and able to provide a service for families in need. Dina is one of the over 400 licensed childcare providers in Merced County. But Dina also knows too well the hard work and hard life she has endured to get to this point. Dina was born in El Salvador and came to the United States in 1989 with her mother and two other siblings at a time when there was a lot of civil unrest in her native country. To escape the war torn conditions Dina, her mom and her brother and sister left El Salvador and landed in Long Beach, California. Her father stayed behind. Dina was only twelve years old when they moved to California looking for a new life and better opportunities like so many others that come into this country. Her mom was determined to try to give her children a better life than what they had experienced before. They all had a rough start and had to make sacrifices and tough choices. She and her brother and sister didn t know any English when they came to California and that caused Dina to feel very lonely many times in school but that didn t stop her from trying harder at learning the English language. Dina s mom held two jobs to help them survive, but that required Dina to step up to the plate as mother and father to her two siblings. Dina attended many different schools in Los Angeles due to her mother s jobs and moving around so much. In a span of four years she attended three different high schools, but she never gave up, she never dropped out. She knew education was her key to a better life and other opportunities, so she studied hard and always kept her grades up. She set a goal for herself to accomplish certain tasks and achieve a dream for a better life. Seeing her mother work so hard and attempt to keep up with them and her jobs always inspired Dina to do the same. But she also gives gratitude to a Miss Evans, an ESL teacher in Van Nuys Valley that encouraged her and mentored her along the way. Despite her great aspirations to succeed Dina hit a bump on the road at the young age of 18. She became a teenage mom. She still graduated from high school but she moved out of her mother s home and started working. Dina was able to survive the consequences of a teenage pregnancy and kept moving forward to work on achieving several goals she had set for herself. Today, Dina feels proud of the fact that she has been able to achieve many of her goals and believes in always setting new goals. She attended Long Beach City College and Chapman University in Orange County where she graduated and received her Bachelor s Degree in Early Childhood Education. She has a Master s Degree in Early Childhood Education from Ashford University in San Diego. She has also acquired a Program Director Teaching Credential after having worked for 18 years with children. She owns and operates, together with her husband Mario, a home based child care facility. She credits the training and support provided by the A.C.C.E.S.S. (A Child Care & Education Services System) Child Care Resource & Referral Services program under the Early Education Department of Merced County Office of Education, for assisting her in refining her skills as a child care provider. Dina says, I have learned so much from A.C.C.E.S.S. that now I myself participate as a mentor to other child care providers. Dina is ready to take Dina s Day Care & Preschool to the next level; from a home based day care to a center based day care and preschool. This is one of her many other goals she hopes and plans to achieve. She has been preparing her paperwork for 4 years now and already has a site designated that she is renovating and hopes to open up in June of this year. And, of course, that s aside from pursuing her doctorate degree. At her day care Dina, her husband and one other employee take care of fourteen children where they also work with special needs students. Her husband, never imagining that he would go from being a construction worker to a day care worker, says he has learned how to be more patient, has become one of her biggest supporters, and is grateful that life led him to where he is at now. He prides himself in having learned how to talk and communicate with some children that sometimes aren t able to do the same with their teachers, and in getting to know his own children better. Dina and Mario have four children: Jacqueline, age 19; Adam, age 14; David, age 7; and Jaylene, age 2. You can usually see Dina at different events promoting her day care center and advocating for early childhood education. She is a very giving person that is always willing to share her knowledge and experience with others that may need some encouraging words to keep them moving forward and not give up on their dreams. Between Friends/Entre Amigos March/April 2014 Page 4

6 Livingston High School Hosts First WolfPAC Mini- Conference to Focus on Success More than 200 Livingston High School juniors learned about how to survive and thrive in both college and the workplace at a one-day conference on Friday, February 28. The Merced Union High School District, in partnership with the Merced County Office of Education, the Merced County s P-16 Council and the Business Education Alliance of Merced (BEAM), hosted the Wolf PAC (Professional Awareness Conference). The specially designed college and career focus was strategically crafted to help students begin thinking about their futures now. Students learned how to prepare for life beyond high school by understanding the importance of course work and extra curricular choices through motivating workshops and two keynote speakers. Merced s P-16 Council and BEAM s unique partnership with Merced Community College, U.C. Merced s Calvin Bright Success Center and MUHSD enabled the students to experience timely and motivating sessions including Resume Writing, Single Tasking for Success, Navigating at the University and Community College and Appropriate Uses of Social Media for Career Success. MUHSD Superintendent Dr. Scott Scambray praised the event. The conference provided a unique way for students to assess the skills they need for success in college and their careers, he said. Two keynote speakers highlighted the mini-conference. Current law school student Gustavo Flores shared the story of how he overcame obstacles even after getting into college, which inspired students. Businessman Justin Ghiglia reminded participants about the value of parlaying their current skills into viable job skills and entrepreneurships after graduation. Eleventh-grade participant Veer Singh noted, We re able to better prepare ourselves for our future and have gained new knowledge that we didn t have before the conference. Livingston High School was selected to pilot this unique mini-conference following overwhelming encouragement from BEAM and the business community to teach students about the need to continue developing 21st century skills after high school. These skills include the development of literacy, interpersonal and self-management skills and the ability to collaborate with others. These are all tools that will increase productivity of young adults in college and the workplace. Joseph Gallo and Kaplan Test Preparation provided incentives during the day that included a business lunch and resume review for several students and a scholarship for one lucky student to attend a SAT preparation course. Dr. Kathy Pon, an MCOE administrator who works with the Merced County P-16 Council, summarized the event: Students were given both information and tools that will help them transition from backpack to briefcase, that is, from high school to college and careers. In the end, our entire community benefits. PHOTO COURTESY MERCED COUNTY OFFICE OF EDUCATION: One of the keynote speakers at the WolfPAC mini-conference in Livingston was businessman Justin Ghiglia. He challenged the group of more than 200 Livingston High School juniors to develop their personal skill set and prepare for the future now. Between Friends/Entre Amigos March/April 2014 Page 6

8 MERCED COLLEGE SELECTS STUDENT OF THE MONTH Her philosophy professor calls her assertive, which is another way of saying, she asks many questions and challenges assumptions. Kryn Bradley, Merced College s Student of the Month for January, is dedicated to the educational process, says professor Lorraine Barnes. She takes responsibility for her academic future. Barnes nominated Bradley, who was then selected by the Merced College Academic Senate for the honor. Bradley, 18, is in her first semester at the College, but she s already impressed faculty with her intellectual curiosity and work ethic. Originally homeschooled, the Dos Palos resident and Los Baños Campus student, planson pursuing a degree in Biblical Studies at Oklahoma Baptist University. I have continually proven myself to be a dedicated, hardworking student through my grade point average and my class participation, Bradley said. In addition to school, church and choir are also integral parts of my life. With a current 3.9 GPA, Bradley is motivated to succeed. She has been active in youth leadership team at her church and has toured Hong Kong and China as part of the choir group New America Singers. She has also spent her time with the choir performing for US Marine recruits at Camp Pendleton in southern California. Although I have only taken classes at the Los Banos Campus, I feel as if I am part of the community as a whole, she said. I feel privileged to be a part of such a close society of students who care as much about their education as myself. Between Friends/Entre Amigos March/April 2014 Page 8

11 Society of Women Engineers Lead Organizers of Conference Left to right: Kavita Kumar and Marisol Prado, UC students U C MERCED Conference Students from Livingston High School Nick Navarette and daughter Jose Ramirez and Daugher Vincent Andrade and daughters Students from Merced Sofia Monterroza of Golden Valley High School with father Manuel Between Friends/Entre Amigos March/April 2014 Page 11

16 New Program Director Hired for Valley Crisis Center in Merced Crisis Center. We look forward to working with her to meet the needs of Merced County s families, states Chevon Kothari, executive director of the Alliance for Community Transformations. Ms. Kehoe comes to Merced with work experience that started at the age of 15 when she became a summer intern with the Victim Witness Services Department of the Mariposa County District Attorney s Office, to being hired as a sexual assault and domestic violence advocate for Mountain Crisis Services in Mariposa, to being hired Residence Director with a staff of eight and overseeing 400 students at Gonzaga University in Washington and coming back home as the Supervisor of the Victim Witness Services Department in the Mariposa County District Attorney s Office. Megan Kehoe New Executive Director Valley Crisis Center Megan and Staff at Valley Crisis Center The Alliance for Community Transformations organization has hired Ms. Meghan Kehoe as the new Program Director for their Valley Crisis Center in Merced. Ms. Kehoe grew up in Mariposa County where she attended local schools before attending and graduating with a college degree from Gonzaga University located in Spokane, Washington. I am now embarking on the next step in my career as the Program Director for Valley Crisis Center in Merced. It is my hope to continue to provide the community of Merced with the highest level of advocacy service and support for survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault, while working to eliminate this societal problem, states Ms. Meghan Kehoe. For additional information on the local Valley Crisis Center, please call (209) Meghan brings a great deal of experience and knowledge to Valley Between Friends/Entre Amigos March/April 2014 Page 16

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